


The Times We've Met

by thatdamhufflepuff



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Drinking, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Mortal AU, accidental meeting au, but no description of it, but theyre all old enough, even smol hazel, ghostfire, its cute, leico - Freeform, leo is 23, new years eve au, nico is 22, non demigods au, the others are all mentioned - Freeform, uhhhh yikes these are only a few tags, valdangelo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 17:58:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12487544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatdamhufflepuff/pseuds/thatdamhufflepuff
Summary: Nico has met Leo three times. Once in an alleyway, once at a bar on New Year's Eve, and once when Piper introduces her new friend.





	The Times We've Met

The first time they had met, it was in an alleyway.

I know, romantic right?

Nico was running from another social event his friends had thrown. It had all of the qualifications of a good party: the food, the music, the people. There was even booze, if you asked the right people. None of it mattered to Nico, the only thing he wanted was out.

So he had fled to scene, running down the flights of stairs leading to the apartment building, and out of the door of the complex. He took a few turns, a left here and a right there, and eventually he found himself standing in an alleyway. Despite the fact that it was mid December, and the air was filled with an anxious frost, Nico found more comfort out here than he did in the party.

“You alright?” A voice from behind him broke the silence that he had just been relishing in, and Nico turned sharply. 

The sight in front of him nearly took his breath away.

It was a boy, around the same age was Nico was. Nico had previously thought he had a strange immunity to the cold, being clad in a relatively thin jacket despite the low temperatures, but the boy in front of him only wore what was barely considered a sweater. That wasn’t even what caught Nico’s eyes. It had been the boy’s face. With dark brown hair whose curls framed his face, and tan skin that seemed to glow in the darkness of the night. Most of all was his brown eyes that seemed to hold a fire in them, waiting only to catch on and burn brightly.

What was someone so pretty doing in a spot like this at a time like this?

Nico pulled his hands from out of his pocket. “Yeah, sorry for invading your alleyway. I was just about to leave.”

“Wait!” The boy called out, and Nico turned back around. The boy was holding his glove. “You dropped this.”

Nico took the glove before shoving it in his pocket, rushing away before any else could be said.

The second time they met was in a bar half a month later.

This time, it was New Year's Eve, and the clock was ticking.

Nico was at a bar with his friends. This year was the first year everyone was hold enough to drink, with his younger sister finally turning 21. Everyone was shovelled into a booth in the corner, and although he couldn’t see them anymore, he could hear their noise all the way from the bar. Once again, the crowd had made Nico uneasy, and he hurriedly excused himself to get another drink.

Pulling up a bar stool, Nico sat down and fingered his now empty glass. The bartender walked over and set another glass of what he was drinking in front of him. Nico looked up, confused.

The bartender tilted her head to his right. “Courtesy of the guy over there.”

Nico followed her gaze to the boy he had met in the alleyway only two weeks ago. Seeing his stare, the boy got up and sat next to Nico.

“You looked familiar.” He justified, gesturing to Nico’s glass.

Nico nodded. “I met you in an alleyway a few weeks ago. We only talked for a few seconds.”

“Ah.” The boy paused, before raising his own drink and clinging it against Nico’s and gulping it down. 

Nico took a sip of his own drink before peering at the boy. “Do you regularly buy drinks for strangers?”

“You’re not a stranger, don’t you remember? We’ve met before.”

“Doesn’t mean I know you anymore. We met for a few seconds, and you didn’t even remember it enough to place why I was familiar. We know next to nothing about each other.”

“Well, you know that I buy drinks for strangers.”

Nico chuckled at the boy, and the strange smiled at the sound of Nico’s laugh. 

The TVs all over the bar, tuned in to Times Square, were getting ready for the countdown. Only five more minutes until this year faded into a new one.

The boy rose from his stool and nodded his head towards the bathroom, and then back at Nico, suggesting he follow him. The boy walked away without looking to him for a response, but Nico found himself following him anyway.

The bathroom was a single room with a door that can lock, as strange as that was for a public bathroom. The boy stood in the middle, his hands in his pocket, and his shoulders hunched as he was clearly waiting. Nico walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

“What made you think I would follow you here?” Nico asked, taking a step closer to the boy.

“I didn’t, but clearly you did anyway.” 

“And why did you want to talk in here?” Nico asked again, taking another step closer.

“I was hoping to do a little bit more than talking, but you don’t seem the type to make out in front of a whole crowd of people.”

“And why do you think I’m gay?” Crossing his arms, Nico felt a small wave of anger form in his chest.

“I’d like to think I have a good gaydar.” The boy pressed closer to Nico, and now he was close enough Nico could feel his warmths breaths against him. From outside the bathroom, you could hear people counting down to the New Year. “What do you say? Care for a little good luck kiss to start the year right?”

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. 

Before the crowd screamed at the New Year, Nico closed all the distance between the two, and kissed the boy. The simple kiss grew more and more, progressing from a sloppy make out to a quick hook up. 

Once they were finished, Nico cleaned himself up quickly and found himself rushing away from the boy once again.

The third time they met was only a week later. Piper had her arm slung around the boy, as she presented him to Nico and his friends.

“This is my friend I was talking to you guys about. Basically we were best friends for our senior year of highschool before we lost contact when he moved away. Anyway, I ran into this fucker on New Year’s Eve, and I now officially appoint him as one of us.”

The others seemed fine with Piper’s declaration, as they were always happy to have a new friend. Besides, whoever Piper brought into the group always ended up making a great addition.

Piper went around, introducing the boy, Leo, to everyone.

“Leo, this is Nico, the angstiest of them all.”

Leo turned to Nico with a small smirk playing on his lips. “We’ve met before, but it’s nice to finally learn his name.”

“No, we didn’t.” Nico crossed his arms and tried to avoid the inquisitive stares of the others.

“Really? Because I recall differently, after all we did--”

“Shut it!” Nico cut him off. He blushed a dark red, knowing exactly what the boy (Leo, he corrected) was referencing.

“I’ve never seen Nico blush that much.” Percy smirked.

Nico threw his hands up and stormed out of the room and hid on the flight of stairs leading to Piper’s apartment. Surely enough, because God forbid if he could rid himself of this boy, Leo followed him out there.

“I’m sorry.” Leo apologized. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Nico ran his hands through his hair. “No, it’s fine. I just-- they don’t know I’m gay, alright? And I don’t plan on coming out for a while.”

Leo nodded at his statement. “Okay. Can I at least ask if we’re going to talk about New Year’s?”  
Nico didn’t respond. He kicked the heel of his shoe on the floor repeatedly.

“Alright,” Leo seemed eager to break the silence. “I’ll start. Did you like what happened between us?”

Flushing darker, Nico held his face in his hands. “Maybe.”

“Do you want to do it again?”

“I… Yes.”

“Alright then. Do you want to do other things too?”

Nico looked confused, and turned to the other boy. He couldn’t help but notice the eyes that had amazed him when they first met. “What do you mean?”

“Well, do you, like, want to be my boyfriend? I know we literally just learned each other’s names seconds ago, and we don’t know each other that well. But we can get to know each other? If you say no, it’s perfectly fine with me, and I’ll be fine with being just friends, or just friends with benefits.” Leo started to ramble, and once he started he couldn’t find himself to stop.

Nico pondered quietly for a moment, before looking up. “Yes… I would like to be your boyfriend. Can’t wait to get to know someone who lurks in alleyways for fun and buys strangers drinks.”

Leo smiled as relief flooded his veins. “And I can’t wait to get to meet someone who runs into alleyways commonly and accepts drinks from strangers.”


End file.
